Fasting To The Death: Is It A Religious Rite Or Suicide?

[rug]

Members of the Jain community in Mumbai, India, protest a High Court order that banned santhara, a practice of fasting until death. Rafiq Maqbool/AP

September 02, 2015 5:20 AM ET
Julie McCarthy

A person who is very old or very ill decides to stop eating in order to die.

To members of the ancient and tiny faith of Jainism in India, that's a tradition called santhara or sallekhana (literally thinning out).

India's Supreme Court is considering whether to ban the practice as a form of suicide, which is punishable under law. The court is now reviewing the end-of-life ritual.

Some form of fasting is deeply rooted in many religions: Christians practice Lent. Muslims have Ramadan. The Jewish tradition is to fast on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Hindu calendar is rich with days of forsaking food.

http://www.npr.org/2015/09/02/436820789/india-examines-when-is-fasting-considered-suicide

5:54 audio at link. Earlier thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1218210456

[SheilaT]

1. It's not a formalized ritual in our culture, but it is

quite common for elderly people to stop eating, and then die not long after.

[rug]

2. Worse, it's often not voluntary.

[SheilaT]

3. Really? All of the cases I happen to know

of are elderly people voluntarily not eating. If you know of someone who deliberately starves someone, a call to 911 might be in order.

[rug]

4. Many older people can't get arond, or even out.

When they have no support system or means, many end up simply waiting to die.

The ones I know are from guardianships brought by APS.

[AtheistCrusader]

5. Does it matter?

I don't give a shit if it's religious or not. I reserve the right to self-terminate on my own terms. Anyone should have that right.